Bail denied again for former Patriot Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez was denied bail again after a hearing today at Fall River Superior Court in which prosecutors unveiled new evidence against the former Patriots tight end charged with first-degree murder.

Aaron Hernandez was denied bail again after a hearing Thursday at Fall River Superior Court in which prosecutors unveiled new evidence against the former Patriots tight end charged with first-degree murder.

Investigators found a magazine to a .45-caliber handgun inside a Humvee registered to Hernandez and recovered three boxes of .45-caliber ammunition as well as ammunition for a rifle after they executed search warrants Wednesday night at a Franklin condominium that Hernandez is renting. Prosecutors also mentioned obtaining a picture of Hernandez holding a Glock handgun that began circulating on the Internet late Wednesday.

“That shows the fluid and progressive nature of the investigation,” Bristol County District Attorney Samuel Sutter said outside the Fall River Justice Center after the bail review hearing.

Prosecutors began laying out their highly detailed case against Hernandez during his arraignment Wednesday in Attleboro District Court, where a judge ordered Hernandez to be held without bail.

Hernandez’s defense lawyers appealed that bail decision in Fall River Superior Court. They said the prosecution’s case was circumstantial and “fraught with doubt.”

“There is no eyewitness testimony, no indication of direct evidence as to who shot Lloyd and who was present,” defense attorney James Sultan said in arguing that the prosecution had not submitted evidence proving who shot Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old Dorchester man, on June 17.

Sultan pointed to his client’s lack of a criminal record, his ties to the community, his fiancee and 8-month-old daughter in arguing that Hernandez — whom the defense team described as “a young man who is extremely hard-working” — should have been granted $250,000 cash bail with conditions of release.

Sultan added Hernandez, 23, was not a flight risk, and said being released on bail would allow Hernandez to receive medical treatment and physical therapy he needs to recover from shoulder surgery.

But Judge Rene F. Dupuis said that the prosecution’s case — while “circumstantial, to be sure” — was still “very, very strong” and that it portrayed a convincing picture that Hernandez orchestrated a “cold-blooded” execution of Lloyd because the victim reportedly disrespected the defendant.

“If that’s true, and based upon this information it seems to be ... this individual doesn’t comply with societal rules and that the idea I can release him on the risk that he would comply with court rules is not something I’m willing to accept,” Dupuis said, adding that she doubted a GPS bracelet would ensure Hernandez’s good behavior.

Defense attorneys Sultan and Michael Fee said they will consider appealing the bail decision to a single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Sultan and Fee declined to comment on media reports Thursday that detectives are investigating Hernandez for a drive-by shooting that killed two men last year in Boston.

First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley reiterated the prosecution’s case against Hernandez. McCauley said surveillance footage from Hernandez’s North Attleborough home on the night of Lloyd’s murder showed Hernandez carrying a gun while leaving his house. Hernandez was also heard telling someone in the house that he was mad because he couldn’t trust anybody.

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On the night of June 16, Hernandez texted two friends from out of state and asked them to return to Massachusetts. The three men picked up Lloyd at his home around 2:30 a.m. on June 17, and as they drove around, they talked about what happened at a nightclub two nights earlier, when the victim reportedly disrespected Hernandez, prosecutors said.

McCauley said Lloyd was “very nervous” that night and that he texted his sister to let her know who he was with. A few hours later, Lloyd was found dead from five gunshot wounds in an industrial park about one mile from Hernandez’s home. McCauley said investigators recovered five .45-caliber shell casings from the scene that appeared to have been fired from a Glock.

McCauley added that the case against Hernandez “is strong, and he would be looking at a chance of life in prison without parole.”

Lloyd’s relatives were emotional after they left the courtroom and declined to speak with the media.

Also on Thursday, a few young men wearing New England Patriots jerseys and T-shirts attended the bail hearing. Several Patriots fans — also wearing their team’s colors, including Hernandez’s No. 81 jersey — later chanted “free Hernandez” and “not guilty” outside the courthouse on South Main Street.

“You feel bad because you’re a fan, but it puts football into perspective,” said Daniel Correia, 18, of Fall River, while wearing a red throwback Tom Brady jersey.

“It sounds like Hernandez is in the guilty end of this,” said Correia, who was accompanied by his friend Devin Casey, 17, of Fall River. Casey wore a Patriots T-shirt to show his support for the embattled NFL star, despite his arrest.

The courtroom was so packed during Hernandez’s hearing that several reporters and courthouse personnel were not allowed inside after the hearing began at 2 p.m. Hernandez, wearing a green Bristol County House of Corrections uniform, appeared subdued throughout the hearing. At one point, he appeared to nod to his fiancee, who was in the courtroom and broke down in tears after the bail decision. She later declined to speak with reporters outside the courthouse.

Hernandez is scheduled to appear July 24 for a probable cause hearing in Attleboro District Court. But it is unlikely that hearing will be held because the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office will be looking to present the case to a grand jury for indictment. If Hernandez is indicted on murder and firearm charges, he would then be arraigned in Superior Court, either in Fall River or Taunton.

A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole.